myi: How has the changing market affected estate agents?
With housing transactions at half the levels they were during the peak years of 2004-2007 there has obviously been a significant impact on estate agents. Good agents, with strong brand presence and diverse revenue streams have been able to respond to the challenging market.
Whilst it’s always sad to see businesses fail it is an economic reality that agents without strong balance sheets would struggle as the instructions and with it the sales fall away as has been the case.
myi: How are you finding the current market conditions?
We’ve had a very strong start to 2012 (on the back of a very solid 2011) and our experience is that by getting the fundamentals right, estate agents can survive and indeed thrive. Discretionary sellers continue to be cautious about putting their properties on the market but as time goes by we find that people are adjusting to where market values are currently and that in turn helping boost transaction levels.
myi: What are your predictions for the future of the estate agency sector?
The sector will, as it always has, evolve and adapt – it can’t go any other way. Despite predictions that the High Street estate agent was an endangered species, we’ve seen time and again that customers still want a High Street presence, even if they do their research online.
Estate agency is, and always will be, a people business. Whilst interactions with customers may take many different forms as technology evolves, the one-to-one contact will continue to remain critical, and for that we as a group of companies, feel we along with others lead the way.
myi: How has Spicerhaart managed to get through the recession?
Spicerhaart continues to successfully navigate the recession by having a strong balance sheet, diversifying revenue streams, managing costs carefully, and continuing to do the right things well. We have a rapidly growing lettings business, a very successful financial services team, an active asset management service and a strong professional services arm providing conveyancing, survey and valuation resources.
myi: How has social media affected the property industry and in particular, estate agents?
We are using social media for a variety of activities, from brand development to recruitment, professional guidance to market updates. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn are all tools we are using to develop our brand and create conversation opportunities with our customers.
We see these channels as becoming increasingly important in all aspects of property and related activities and will continue to engage with our customers in ways that are convenient and useful to them. That’s at the haart (one of our brands if you’ll excuse the pun) of all that we do.
